Together
by merderfan93
Summary: Jack woke up froma coma a year after the sinking of the Titanic, believing Rose to be dead. However on a trip to Santa Monica with his daughter years later, he learns she is in fact alive and well as a few other surprises R&R s'il vous plait
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Alas, I don't own Titanic or any of the characters associated in this story.**

_It doesn't matter how far apart we are now  
You can add up all the miles in between  
If you take a good look all around now  
All you see is you and me  
When I look at myself in the mirror  
I see you standing there smiling at me  
And I'm right back at the beginning  
Lost inside this memory  
I won't ever let go, all that I want to hold onto_

That we belong together  
Like the moon and stars and midnight  
We'll be strong forever  
Cuz we belong together  
Whoa, whoa... whoa whoa

Doesn't matter how long that it takes you  
Cuz I'll always be right by your side  
And weven when darkness awaits you  
I'll be there to be your light  
It's a hard lonely road  
When you're standing outside in the cold

That we belong together  
Like the moon and stars and midnight  
We'll be strong forever  
Cuz we belong together  
Whoa, whoa... whoa whoa

Sometimes it's hard to learn to let go  
Life always knows the right moments to show you what you needed

And we belong together  
Like the moon and stars and midnight  
And we belong together  
Like the moon and stars and midnight  
We'll be strong forever  
Cuz we belong together  
Whoa, whoa... whoa whoa

Jack Dawson smiled to himself as he walked along Santa Monica pier listening to his three year old daughter chatter excitedly beside him.

"Daddy look!" she exclaimed pulling him over to a bench where a young girl of about 13 or 14 years old sat playing a guitar:

There's somethin' 'bout the way the street looks when it's just rained  
There's a glow off the pavement, you walk me to the car  
And you know I wanna ask you to dance right there  
In the middle of the parking lot, yeah

We're drivin' down the road, I wonder if you know  
I'm tryin' so hard not to get caught up now  
But you're just so cool, run your hands through your hair  
Absent-mindedly makin' me want you

And I don't know how it gets better than this  
You take my hand and drag me headfirst, fearless  
And I don't know why but with you I dance  
In a storm in my best dress, fearless

As he listened to the girl play, he couldn't help but wonder if he had met the girl before, there was something about her blue eyes and long black curly hair that seemed familiar to him but for the life of him he couldn't place it.

When the song finished and the audience dissipated the girl stood up and looked him in the eye and he suddenly knew why she seemed so familiar

"Cora?" he breathed the girl looked at him confused, she blinked once, twice before her face suddenly dawned in realisation, she gasped and brought a hand up to her mouth, her eyes filling with tears

"Jack…..?"

The pair stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, the world around them seeking to exist, neither sure of what to say.

Finally Cora found her voice "I thought… we thought you were dead" she whispered, her voice shaking.

Jack opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted when his daughter pulled on his shirt, he had forgotten she was even there

"What is it princess?"

"I gots to go potty" she announced hopping from one leg to the other to prove her point. He cursed to himself silently before looking back up at Cora who was looking at him with a look he couldn't place hurt? Betrayal?.

"Can you wait 'till I take her to the bathroom?" he asked pleadingly.

She hesitated before nodding; he smiled softly unable to hide his relief and rushed to find his daughter a bathroom.

_Confused? All will become clear in the next chapter that is if you want me to continue ahem……_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter, sorry about the lyrics, forgot to change it when I uploaded the document this is exactly why you proofread: P**

**If anybody would be willing to beta for me check for grammar errors spelling mistakes etc or even give me suggestions feel free to pm me **

**Disclaimer: still don't own it; if I did I would be somewhere far away from my little brother and all the annoying people and everyday would be Saturday.**

An hour later Jack and Cora sat on the beach, watching his daughter play in the sand.

"She's beautiful" Cora whispered finally breaking the silence that had plagued them.

"Hmm" Jack murmured, still not meeting her eyes.

"What's her name?" she asked. Jack sucked in a breath and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Rose" he finally answered and Cora stared at him disbelievingly

"You named her after mom?" she breathed

"Yeah, wait did you just say mom?" he asked incredulously.

Cora nodded and forced herself to look at him, his eyes were filled with hope and devastation at the same time.

"Yeah, she uh found me on _The Carpathia _after the ship sank and adopted me when we got to New York" she smiled softly at the memory, still fresh in her mind even after nine years.

_Cora sat on a bench on the deck of the ship crying softly, she hadn't seen her daddy since they had been separated in the water last night._

_She looked up when she saw a scary looking man come down the steps and wander across the deck. He walked to the rail and stood gazing out at the ocean for a moment before he made his way back towards the steps he had come down. _

_She looked along the bench and saw a woman with a blanket wrapped around her head, peering out of it ever so slightly._

_The woman turned her head and noticed Cora for the first time, frowning she stood up and made her way over to her and kneeled down in front of her._

"_Cora?" the woman asked gently. Her blanket had fallen from her head to reveal curly red hair and Cora immediately recognised her as the woman who had been dancing with Jack the night of the party on _Titanic.

"_Cora honey are you lost?" Cora nodded and the woman leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her comfortingly._

_After searching the Carpathia for two days and the survivors lists when they eventually came out Rose sat Cora down to explain her father's death _

"_Cora, sweetheart you're daddy's gone to heaven" she said softly _

"_With mommy and the angles?" the little girl asked with such innocence it broke Rose's heart._

"_Yes sweetie with mommy and the angles"_

_Cora bit her bottom lip and looked up at her, tears welling in her eyes_

"_But…. But what about me" she whimpered _

"_Oh Cora" Rose cried pulling her onto her lap and stroking her hair comfortingly" you are going to live with me okay?" the girl nodded against her chest and Rose hugged her tighter rocking her backwards and forth as she cried herself to sleep._

"When we docked, Molly Brown found us and gave mom money for an apartment and help when…….." she trailed off

"What?" Jack asked curiously

Cora took long breath "the twins were born"

JRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJR

Jack gaped at her, his mouth opening and closing several times but no words actually came out.

"Twins?" he eventually squeaked cursing himself for sounding so pathetic

"Yup, Josephine and Jacqueline, they're 8"

"Jesus."

"Yeah" she smiled as she thought of her sisters. "They're two little hell raisers and they look exactly like mom it's scary"

Jack couldn't help but smile as he though of two mini Roses.

"When the twins were about a year old she decided to move us out to California, here"

Jack smiled thinking back to the day on the deck of _Titanic _when he and Rose had talked about coming to California; he was pulled out of the memories when Cora started speaking again.

"Not long after we moved here we found the house and Molly gave us money to put a deposit it down on it, which of course mom insisted paying back"

Jack scoffed "Of course. What is she doing now?"

Cora's smile grew wilder at the question "she owns and art gallery downtown"

Jack gaped at her in disbelief "she… seriously?"

"Yup, she has a little store downtown where she displays latest artwork and she hold these launch parties for new artists and during the day she sells art supplies and frames pictures and stuff"

"God she's amazing" Jack murmured almost to himself

"Yeah, she really is especially after everything that happened with Luke" she trailed of abruptly her eyes drifting back out to the ocean.

"Who's Luke" Jack asked suddenly not liking where the conversation was going.

"Um Luke is uh Luke Calvert mom's husband or he was mom's husband before he died"

"What?" really not liking where the conversation was going.

"She met him a couple of years after we moved when he came into the gallery. He chased her for months before she finally said yes. They got married a couple of years later."

"What happened to him?"

"He was closing up his store, he was a carpenter and somebody tried to rob him and we he fought them they sho"t him" she whispered

"Oh God." Jack breathed feeling tears prick the backs of his eyes

"Hmmm. I'll never forget the night the police knocked on the door she let out this horrible scream. It tore my heart in two"

"How is she still standing?"

Cora let out a harsh laugh "I have no idea"

"What about you? What did you do afterwards?"

Jack took a deep breath "Well, like I said I was in a coma for almost a year after the sinking and when I woke up in New York I searched the survivor's lists for her and when I couldn't find her name…."

"That's because she took Dawson"

Jack gaped "What?"

"She gave our names as Dawson when they asked. She figured that it would be harder for her fiancé and her mother to find her that way. That and in her mind Rose De whatever her name was died in the ocean"

"Oh"

"So what happened when you found out she was dead?" Cora pressed

Jack swallowed the memories still painful even after all these years "I um moved back to Chippewa Falls and married my childhood sweetheart"

They were silent for a few minutes as Cora pondered this.

"Did you love her?"

"I did. Not as much as I should've. Not as much as I loved….. love" he corrected himself "Rose. I just, I needed something to fill the void, something to make it stop hurting."

"Did it work?"

"You ask a lot of questions you know that?" Jack asked wryly.

Cora laughed "I know mom always taught us to be inquisitive. You didn't answer my question."

"It did at first" he sighed "but then we started trying to have a baby and it wasn't easy. She had three miscarriages before she finally got pregnant with Rosie"

"So what happened?"

"Rosie was born and she developed post- partum depression or whatever it's called. She found it really hard to connect with her and be a mother even as she got older"

"And then" he sucked in a deep breath "when Rose was two I came home from work early and I caught her in bed with Mike, who happened to be my best friend." He trailed off trying to swallow back the bile that was slowly rising in his throat.

"Oh God" Cora gasped, a hand moving up to cover her mouth "that's terrible"

Jack nodded his head in agreement "after that I grabbed Rose packed up whatever I could carry and got the hell out of there. I haven't spoken to her since"

"You and mom sure do love your drama" Cora commented her voiced laced with sarcasm.

Jack laughed "You can say that again"

JRJRJRJRJRJRJR

"So how are we going to do this?" Jack asked later

Cora groaned as she ran her fingers through her long curly hair "I have no idea"

"We have to be careful; she's kind of fragile at the moment" she mused as she paced back and forth in the sand.

"Oh! I've got it!" she exclaimed suddenly clapping her hands together.

"Okay this is what we're going to do. She has a launch party at the gallery tomorrow night. You are gonna come to this address" she explained quickly writing down an address on a piece of paper "and we will tell her then."

"Isn't that kind of like ambushing her?"

"Well we either do it there in a room full of witnesses or we do it at home with lots of sharp objects which would you prefer?"

"The first one definitely the first one" he nodded emphatically.

"That's what I thought. Okay I have to go. Tomorrow. 8 pm. Be there"

And with that she ran along the beach leaving a dumbfounded Jack in her wake.

**So there you have it after more than 10 days countless rewrites and over 1500 words I finally produce an update. You know what to do. Ahem**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Titanic or any of the associated characters**.

Cora burst into her best friend Mia's room the next afternoon.

"I did something stupid" she announced as she paced in front of the bed

"What else is new" Mia snorted as she wrote in a notebook laying on her stomach across the bed, although Cora was her best friend, more like a sister to be honest ever since her mother started working at Rose's art gallery, she had a tendency to be impulsive, almost to the point of recklessness and Mia was usually the one who had to fix the mess that she created.

"What did you do this time?" she asked not looking up from her book.

"Well remember how I told you that mom adopted me after the Titanic sank. And that she fell in love with the twins' father and he died."

"Uh hu"

"Well it turns out that he's not dead and I may have invitedhimtothelaunchpartyatthegallerytonight" she let out in a rush. This got Mia's attention.

"You did what?!" she sat jumped up from the bed and stared at her friend disbelievingly. "Why would you do that?!"

"I don't know! He wanted to see her and I guess I thought it would be better to do it in public."

"Cora" Mia groaned burying her face in her hands.

"And that's not even the worst part."

"Oh God there's more?"

Cora nodded emphatically "turns out, he got married and has a daughter named Rose"

"You're kidding me!"

"Nope trust me I couldn't make this stuff up"

"Oh God your mother is going to freak"

"I know!" she flopped down on the bed "Oh God what am I going to do?"

JRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJR

A few hours later Cora was standing in her mother's gallery surrounded by budding artists, journalists and countless other people.

"Hey, any sign of him yet?" Mia asked coming up beside her.

"Not yet. Maybe he decided not to come"

"Who decided not to come?" her mother's voice came from behind her causing her to jump.

"Nobody" she said quickly her eyes growing wide.

"You okay sweetie?" Rose's eyebrows were raised slightly in the way that made Cora's heart beat a little faster in her chest, usually when she was lying.

"Fine" she squeaked "totally and completely fine ooh shrimp" she exclaimed moving to follow a waiter.

Rose turned to Mia looking bemused. "She was at the beach all day, sea air makes her crazy" she explained before hurrying off to join Cora.

"What was that?!" she hissed.

"God I don't know, she looks at me like that I panic. You don't think she knows anything. Oh God she knows she so knows" Cora rambled

Mia rolled her eyes and grabbed her friend's shoulders "Cora. Get a hold of yourself! The only way she could possibly know as if you or I told her. Now I didn't tell her did you?"

Cora shook her head "You're right" she took a deep breath but before she could say anything the door opened and she whipped her head round finding herself staring into Jack's eyes.

She turned round to look at her mother just as her face paled and her champagne glass dropped from her hand.

**Dun dun dunnnn. How about 5 reviews this time? It'll help me write quicker *wink wink***


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: still don't own it……**

Rose felt her world stop as she stared at the man standing in front of her. It couldn't be him, there was no way it was him. She'd watched him drown in the Atlantic for God's sake.

"Rose" the man who looked like Jack but wasn't Jack breathed.

She stared at him her eyes filling with tears.

He had aged somewhat. His face seemed more mature, more experienced and his eyes seemed darker but he was still, if not more, handsome as ever.

She closed her eyes and felt herself being lifted back to her stateroom on Titanic, watching Jack draw her, his gorgeous blue eyes staring at her intently.

Lifting her hand up to cover her mouth she suppressed a sob "Jack is it really you?" she whispered.

He only smiled and nodded, too overcome with emotion to say anything else. He couldn't believe how beautiful she was. His Rose his beautiful, stunning stubborn Rose was standing in front of his very eyes. Her face portraying every emotion that he was feeling. They were pulled out of the reverie when Rose tugged on his trouser leg.

"Daddy"

He glanced down at her "Not now Rosie"

"Rosie?" Older Rose breathed looking between him and the little girl "Oh, oh God" she whispered as the realisation dawned on her. Swallowing back the bile that was rising in her throat she pushed passed him and for the second time in her life, she ran.

JRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJR

She ran until she couldn't breathe. She had no idea where she was going all she knew was that she had to get out of there.

Somewhere along the way she heard Jack's voice behind her desperately pleading for her to stop.

But still she kept running, she ran until her lungs were burning and the sweat was pouring from her forehead.

Eventually, she found herself on the beach and it wasn't long before Jack caught up with her and grabbed her arm.

"Rose…"

"Don't" she spat, yanking her arm from her grip "Don't talk to me."

"Rose calm down and let me explain please"

"Don't you dare tell me what to do "

"My God you're just as stubborn as ever" he smirked though it quickly fell when she raised her hand and smacked him over the head.

"Ow!" he cried "What was that for?"

"You're lucky that's all I did Jack Dawson. What the hell are you doing here? You can't be here you're dead!"

"Really? That's news to me?" he smiled before sobering. "I wasn't dead only unconscious" he explained "I woke up in a hospital in New York a year after the sinking"

"You… you weren't dead? Oh God" she breathed as her knees buckled and she fell onto the sand, her body racked with sobs.

Jack sank down beside her and rocked her back and forth whispering comforting words in ear.

It was almost half an hour later when she finally stopped crying and looked up to him smiling slightly. "Oh God what am I like?" she laughed wiping at her face with her hands.

"oh, your shirt's wet." She commented fingering the material with her thumb.

"Don't worry about it." He smiled kissing her forehead.

"Oh God this is such a mess. I don't even know what to say" she rambled slightly

"Ssh. Don't say anything" he breathed pressing his finger against her lips and she could only nod finding herself lost in his deep blue eyes.

JRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJR

It was just after sunrise when the pair made their way back to Rose's house the next day. They had stayed on the beach the rest of the night talking about everything that had happened to them since the sinking, their daughters marriages, everything.

The house was silent as she let them in through the front door and into the living room.

It was a modest room, a few pieces of furniture and a piano in the corner, but what made the room, had to be the French doors leading onto the beach.

On the patio outside the doors were two deck chairs, one of which had a figure curled up underneath a blanket.

Rose smiled softly at Jack as they made their way through the doors.

Silently she bent down beside the chair and ran her fingers over her daughter's curls.

Cora's eyes popped open and she let out a startled yelp and rolled over in shock, landing on the deck with a loud thump.

Groaning she pulled herself to her feet "Oh that's going to leave a mark." She groaned rubbing her neck

"What were you doing out here?" Rose asked as they headed back into the house.

"Well I had been sleeping until somebody woke me up…" she said slyly throwing her mother a look over her shoulder.

"Anyway, never mind that" she dismissed "what about you two?"

"I think..." Rose began "I think we're going to be okay" she finished as Jack shot her a meaningful look.

Cora let out a delighted squeal and through her arms around her mother and Jack

"I'm so glad."

"Oh!" she exclaimed suddenly "I almost forgot, I called Molly last night, she'll be here with the girls by the end of the week"

Rose smiled and hugged her daughter tightly "what would I do without you?"

"You'd be late, and forget your keys a lot" she smiled coyly at her mother, earning a slap on the arm.

"Where are they?" Jack asked

"They're in New York with Molly for the summer" Rose explained "they get so restless being stuck here with me working all day"

"Ah." He opened his mouth to say something more but was interrupted by a small voice coming from the doorway.

"Daddy" he whipped his head round to see his tiny daughter standing fearfully in the doorway clutching an old china doll

"Hey princess" he grinned lifting her up and swinging her onto his lap

"Did you sleep well?"

Rosie nodded all the while her eyes locked on her older name sake, who was watching the exchange, with misty eyes.

"Uh Rosie this is, daddy's… special friend Rose, Rose this is my daughter Rosie" it occurred to Jack as he introduced his daughter to the woman he loved that this was probably the most bizarre situation he had ever been in, the first class dinner on board the Titanic, being an exception.

Older Rose and younger Rose stared at each other, neither sure what to say

"You have really pretty hair" Rosie whispered

Rose smiled at the little girl and bent down to her level "so do you" she said softly running her fingers over the girls blonde hair, she was startled when the girl leapt of her father's lap and into her arms wrapping her tiny arms tightly around her neck.

Jack's heart melted at the tender scene and he vowed in that moment never to let the woman he loved slip away again.

**I finished it! After God only knows how many months and countless rewrites I finally present you with an update, over 1800 words no less, so given that it is the season for giving and all, help a writer out with a review?**


	5. Chapter 5

Rose paced anxiously in front of her daughters. They had arrived with Molly that morning and Jack had taken Rosie to the pier to give her a chance to explain the situation to them alone. It had seemed like a good idea at the time but now she was desperately wishing he was here.

The girls knew very little of their biological father, come to think of it Rose herself knew very little about him, and when the time had come that they had started asking questions about him she had simply told them that he had been an artist and had died before they were born. She hadn't mentioned anything of the Titanic, desperate to shield them from the horrific experience; it was bad enough that Cora had experienced it.

Eventually their questions had ceased somewhat as they had grown older, and then when she had met her husband he had become a father figure to them, well with Jackie at least, Josie had always been more reserved than her sibling, she barely said more than was necessary, preferring to watch people with those intense blue eyes she had inherited from her father.

She was staring at her mother through those eyes at the very moment, waiting patiently for her to speak, as they had been for over fifteen minutes. Jackie had babbled excitedly for awhile about their time in New York but had quickly grown bored and was now impatiently swinging her legs back and forth "Mom can I go play now?" she asked, snapping Rose out of her reverie.

"In a minute darling. I have something important I need to talk to you about" She took a deep breath and glanced at Molly and Cora who smiled and nodded encouragingly. She had to this now, before she lost her nerve. Inhaling again she sat down on the edge of the coffee table in front of them.

"Do you remember when I told you about your father?" Josie nodded

"You mean Luke?" Jackie asked sounding confused

Rose shook her head "No darling you're real father, remember I told you he died before you were born? Well, he isn't actually dead."

"He isn't? You mean he came back from heaven?"

"No, he was never dead. We were separated and I… Well it doesn't matter what happened. What matters is that he is alive and he's very excited to meet you"

"Really he's here?" Josie asked, surprising Rose with the level of excitement in her voice. Rose nodded and squeezed her daughter's hand "he is"

" Does that mean Luke will come back too?" Jackie questioned, still not fully understanding.

Rose smiled sadly moving to sit beside her daughter, placing a comforting arm around her shoulder and pulling her close "No darling, Luke isn't coming back" she said softly.

Jackie looked up at her mother; her jade green eyes filled with tears "B-but I don't want a new daddy! I want Luke!" she screamed jumping to her feet and running up the stairs followed shortly by the sound of her door slamming so violently the house shook. "Jackie darling!" Rose called running up the stairs after her, followed closely by Molly and Cora, leaving Josie alone in the empty living room.

"Hello?" Jack called a few minutes later as he walked through the front door, a sleeping Rosie in his arms. The house seemed to be empty but he could hear voices coming from upstairs, glancing at his daughter he moved through the hallway into the living room. It appeared to be empty but the French doors had been opened, the sea breeze causing the curtains to flutter as it filled the room.

Moving closer to the doors he could make out a small figure huddled on the patio bent over what seemed to be a sketchbook of some sort. His heart clenched tightly as he realised that this was his daughter. He simply stared at for a few moments unsure of how to approach her; placing a sleeping Rosie on the armchair he gently stepped out onto the porch, making as little noise as possible so as not to scare the girl.

However, despite his best his efforts, she glanced up upon his exit, her eyes anxious and immediately jumped up, peering at him curiously.

"Hi." He said softly, smiling down at her.

"Hi." She replied, sounding nervous as she fiddled with her wrists "Are you my daddy?" she asked, her voice so small and full of hope it made his heart melt in his chest.

He lowered himself so that he was eye level with her and nodded "I am" he swallowed.

There was silence for a moment as she studied him carefully before she raised her hand tentatively "I'm Josie."

He glanced down at the hand and back up at her before grabbing her hand in his own larger one and shaking it "well, Josie it's very nice to meet you. You're just as beautiful as your mommy" Josie blushed and bit her bottom lip looking down at the ground, clearly embarrassed.

There was another awkward silence as Jack searched desperately for something to say until a piece of paper fluttering behind them caught his attention "watcha got there?" he asked gesturing to the paper

"A drawing."

"Oh really? You draw?"

Josie nodded shyly "I'm not very good" She moved to sit down on the patio and Jack mirrored her movements "I'm sure that's not true. Can I see?"

Josie nodded and handed him the sketchbook, much like his own. He was surprised as he flicked through the pages. There were drawings of buildings, he guessed in New York, people, but mostly dresses, pages and pages of dresses in all different styles of a surprisingly good quality for an eight year old.

"You like dresses?"

Josie nodded "there are really pretty ones in New York. They make you look like a princess"

Jack nodded and handed her back the sketch book "well you are a very good artist"

Josie smiled shyly "mom says you're an artist" Jack nodded "She's right, I am"

"Can I see you're drawings?" She asked tentatively.

"Of course you can" he replied getting up and heading into the house, his daughter following him.

Meanwhile, Rose, Cora and Molly were upstairs pleading with Jackie, who was refusing to come out of her room.

"Jackie sweetheart" Rose knocked "please come out so we can talk about this"

"No!" She yelled and Rose groaned banging her ahead against the wall wishing-not for the first time- that her daughter wasn't so strong willed.

"Oh God what am I going to do?" She groaned, feeling the beginnings of a headache.

"Why don't I try?" Cora suggested, without waiting for a reply she gently tapped on the door, and slipped through it.

She moved over to the bed, and lowered herself onto the single bed and squeezed beside her, their limbs overlapping given the size of the bed.

"You're really lucky you know"

Jackie sniffled but lifted her head in her direction "how?" she demanded

"Well, your daddy died and then you got a new daddy and he died, which sucked, it did, but now you're real dad's back. And he wants nothing more than to be your daddy; most little kids would kill for an opportunity like that. I know I would"

"I thought he was your dad?"

Cora shook her head sadly "No my daddy died with my mommy when I was really little. I barely remember them anymore" she paused pushing back the onset of tears "but I would give anything for the chance to see him again." She rolled over onto her side so that they were face to face, their noses touching.

"This is your chance Jackie, to have a dad, and if you don't take it now, you'll regret it" she reached down and squeezed the girls hand "what do you say we go down and meet him properly"

"You'll go with me?"

Cora smiled, and nodded, reaching out a brushing the few stray tears off her cheeks "of course I will".

Rose smiled to herself as she stepped through the French doors; Jack and Josie were sitting on a deck chair, heads together bent over a sketchbook.

She cleared her throat, smiling as they both started and looked at her surprised by the intrusion, she could've sworn she even saw Jack blushing. Josie was the first to recover and beamed at her mother

"Hi mom!" Rose smiled and sat down beside her kissing the top of her head, she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen her daughter so happy

"Hi sweetheart. What's that you've got there?"

Jack cleared his throat "I was uh showing her some of my work"

"He liked my drawings mom! He called me an artist!"

"Of course he liked them. You're a great artist sweetheart" she smiled and kissed her daughter's cheek "Did you draw lots in New York?"

"Uh hu."

"I had to buy her a new sketchbook" Molly announced from the doorway where she had been watching the exchange.

Rose gasped "you did? I just gave you one before you left!"

Josie shrugged "There's lots to draw in New York. Have you ever been Dad?"

Jack cleared his throat; taken aback by the question, both by her instant acceptance of him and the actual question itself. He didn't have the most pleasant memories of New York.

"Once. A long time ago" he finally settled on hoping she didn't ask any more questions.

Rose sensed his unease and quickly changed the subject "Can I see your drawings sweetie?"

Josie nodded and handed her mother the pad. Rose smiled with pride as she flipped through the pages. Her daughter had certainly inherited her father's talent. She caught Jack's eye over Josie's head and saw that he had a similar look.

"They're wonderful, darling. I'm so proud of you" Josie blushed at her mother's praise, avoiding her gaze.

"Daddy?" a small voice asked from the doorway behind Molly's leg

"Oh sorry darlin'" she grinned and stepped out of the way. The little girl look scared as she ran over and scrambled onto her father's lap glancing at Josie curiously

"Rosie, sweetheart this is your, uh, sister, Josephine"

Rosie's face lit up "Like the song!" she exclaimed clapping her hands excitedly "sing it Daddy!"

"Yes Daddy. Sing it" Rose smirked

Jack sighed dramatically and began to sing

_**Come Josephine in my flying machine**_

_**Going up she goes! Up she goes!**_

_**Balance yourself like a bird on a beam**_

_**In the air she goes! There she goes!**_

_**Up, up, a little bit higher**_

_**Oh! My! The moon is on fire**_

_**Come Josephine in my flying machine**_

_**Going up, all on, Goodbye!**_

Cora and Jackie stepped out onto the deck and smiled to each other as they heard the familiar song. Cora cleared her throat.

"Guys?" they stopped singing and looked up at her. Rose jumped up off her seat and moved towards them "Jackie sweetheart" Cora watched as her mother took her sister's hand and led her towards Jack and her sister's. She watched for a moment as the two were introduced. Before she turned away and walked through the house out the front door, an inexplicable pain in her heart.

She was sitting in the front yard writing in her notebook when Mia and her mother Violet walked up the path carrying bags of groceries.

"Hey sweetheart. What're you doing out here all alone. I thought the twins were due home today?"

Cora nodded not looking up from the paper "they're here. They're out back with Mom and Jack"

Violet and Mia glanced at each other, confused. "Then why are you out here by yourself?"

Cora shrugged dejectedly "didn't want to interrupt" she got up and began walking down the path. "Tell mom I'm going for a walk."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Mia asked, she had never seen her friend look so down before.

Cora shook her head "No thanks, I'd rather be alone."

Violet and Mia frowned at each other and let themselves into the house, following the sounds of voice they moved through the house onto the deck. Violet cleared her throat.

"Oh Violet!" Her best friend exclaimed "I wasn't expecting you!"

"I brought food" she announced motioning towards the groceries. Rose smiled gratefully whilst Jack looked on confused "Jack this is Violet Turner, she runs the gallery with me and her daughter Mia, Violet this is Jack Dawson"

Jack stood up and took the bags off of her. Allowing him to shake her hand "Nice to meet ya" he grinned.

Violet returned the smiled; there was no denying that he was handsome.

He stepped back and grabbed the bags "where do you want these?" and a gentleman too, she thought to herself.

"Kitchen, please" she waited until he had moved back into the house and Rose moved to follow him before she grabbed her friend's arm "what the hell is going on?" she demanded.

Rose simply shrugged unable to stop the smile on her face "He's alive." She sighed, almost dreamily. Violet rolled her eyes

"I can see that, but what's really going on? I mean are you two in a relationship?" Rose's face fell slightly "I don't know. There's been so much going on, we haven't had the chance to talk about it"

"Well don't you think you should? I mean does even know about Luke. He's only been dead six months Rose are you sure jumping into a relationship is a good idea"

Rose blanched slightly, taken aback by her friends words, she had been so happy since discovering that Jack was alive she hadn't really considered her husband's recent death. The thought made her feel guilty and for a moment she hated herself. How could she forget her dead husband?

Violet watched as her best friends face fall and immediately felt bad she sighed and put her hand on her shoulder "I'm sorry Rose, I didn't mean to upset you. I just think you should be careful before you jump into anything."

Rose nodded and smiled slightly "I know, and I will be"

"Good. And if he hurts you, I reserve the right to kick his ass"

Rose laughed and looped her arm in Violet's "Deal"

"Oh and while I remember" Violet said, pulling things from the various grocery bags "You should talk to Cora"

Rose frowned and glanced at jack, who look equally confused "Cora? What do you mean?"

"Mia and I just ran into her out front and she looked kind of upset"

"She did?" Rose asked "I better go find out what's wrong" she murmured getting up to leave

"She's not here. Said she was going for a walk, wanted some time alone"

"Oh" Rose frowned further confused

"I'm sure it's nothing." Violet dismissed "She'll be fine"

Hours later, after they'd eaten dinner and the girls had been sent to bed and there was still no sign of Cora. Rose began to grow anxious

"I'm sure she's fine" Jack attempted to reassure as she paced the living room.

Rose shook her head "No, something's wrong. She never goes out for this long without telling me where she's going. I'm going to look for her" She decided, heading for the doorway but was stopped when Jack stepped in front of her, blocking her path

"I don't think that's such a good idea" Rose opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off "If she wants to be by herself, you should leave her be. I'm sure she'll tell you what's wrong when she's ready, but she won't thank you for pushing her" Rose sighed and nodded reluctantly, knowing he was right, she let him lead her back over to the sofa and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and kissing the top of her head

Minutes later the front door opened an Cora appeared. Rose jumped up and ran towards her daughter, relief cursing through her veins, she pulled her close, kissing her cheek "Oh, Cora thank God! We were getting worried, you've been gone for hours. Have you been crying?"

Cora shook her head weekly as she collapsed on the couch, almost dejectedly

"You have" Rose frowned, brushing her daughter's tear stained cheeks "What on earth is the matter?"

Cora looked up at her mother and collapsed sobbing against her chest "Oh sweetie!" Rose pulled her close ad cradled her against her chest "Sssh. It's going to be okay" she soothed

"No Its not going to be okay!" Cora cried "How can it be okay? I don't remember!"

Rose was downright confused now, she had no idea what could make her daughter so upset and a quick glance a Jack told her he felt the same "What? Sweetheart you have to calm down okay, take a deep breath" Cora nodded and inhaled as Rose brushed the tears from her cheeks. "Now, what's wrong?"

Coral swallowed "I'm really happy for you guys and I'm really happy that you're back Jack I am."

"But?" Rose prompted brushing her curls from her face

"But lately I've been thinking a lot about… about Titanic and my parents"

She bit her trembling lip and stared at the floor fighting back a further onset of tears.

"Oh sweetheart" Rose breathed pulling her close "Oh I'm so sorry" she rocked her back and forth for lack of anything to say.

"I just…. I don't want to forget them. You're my mom and you always will be… but they were my parents…"

"Oh honey of course. They were you're parents nothing will ever change that. Don't you ever feel ashamed for your feelings about them, do you hear me?"

Cora nodded wiping her tears.

"Good. Now tell me what you remember about them?" she asked. Cora smiled softly and lay her head on Rose's lap like she had when she was little.

"It's all getting a bit hazy now. Daddy always used to smoke, sometimes a pipe on special occasions, but mostly he'd roll his own and let me help him. Mama always hated it, said she hated the smell. We lived in this old farm house in the middle of nowhere, daddy had lived there is whole life he said…."

Rose smiled at Jack as Cora continued feeling an inexplicable happiness bubbling up inside of her. Maybe things would be good from now on.

**Hoping 3000 words and 8 Word pages makes up for the lack of updates. Let me know what you think.**


	6. Chapter 6

Rose hovered tentatively in the doorway, silently watching Jack.

He was asleep on the couch, his right arm covering his face and his right leg sticking out of the blanket, he looked almost adorable…

It had been over three weeks since their reunion and he and Rosie had moved into the house although she hadn't felt comfortable having him sleep in her bedroom so he had willingly slept on the couch, not that she was sleeping.

After Titanic she had always had a problem with insomnia, when she had met Luke he had been understanding, though he never knew the true cause, and helped her manage to get at least a couple of hours sleep a night, but since his death she had been lucky if she could get thirty minutes sleep before the nightmares came.

Jack didn't seem to have any problems and she had taken to watching him sleep at night long after they had gone to bed and she was sure he wouldn't notice.

She still couldn't believe everything that happened over the past few weeks, discovering not only that Jack was alive after she had been sure he was dead but also that he had been married and had a young daughter, named after her.

They hadn't discussed the events surrounding his sudden departure from Chippewa Falls nor had they discussed her husbands death, they would no doubt have to eventually, but for now they were living in the moment.

Knowing her luck it wouldn't be long before some other drama struck their lives.

She smiled softly has he shifted in his sleep and she couldn't resist stepping closer to him. She lowered herself gently on the couch and ran her fingers lightly through his hair.

Suddenly his eyes flew open and he looked up at her in shock.

She placed her hand over his mouth and pressed her finger to her lips motioning for him to stay quiet,

He looked up at her questioningly, sleep still evident in his eyes and voice "What are you doing?" he asked sitting up letting the blanket fall to his lap revealing his bare chest

"N-nothing, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, go back to sleep" she moved to get up but he grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks

"Hey, what's wrong, what are you doing up so late?"

"Nothing, I just couldn't sleep so I was going to make some coffee"

He looked suspicious but didn't comment as he made to follow her into the kitchen.

He didn't say anything as she moved around the room preparing the coffee but she could feel his eyes on her the entire time and it made her acutely uncomfortable.

"So why can't you sleep?" he asked as she placed a steaming mug in front of him

"No reason, just couldn't sleep" she avoided his eyes

Jack sighed and reached across the table to grab her hand "Rose, you know I love you but you are a terrible liar"

Rose let out a laughing breath "Molly says the same thing"

"So come on what's wrong"

She didn't want to but there was something about his penetrating gaze that made her want to tell him everything

"The truth is, I haven't slept in years, not really"

He squeezed her hand "Nightmares?" his voice was gentle but coaxing

Rose nodded "The first few nights after the Carpathia Docked we were staying in a shelter set up for survivors, we were sharing this one mattress and we were both ill, so I wasn't sleeping much then and then Molly found us and I found out I was pregnant…" her breathing was becoming laboured as she fought back tears

"Hey" Jack moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder "It's okay, just slow down, take some deep breaths and start from the beginning"

Rose clutched Cora's hand as the pair waited in line for food at the shelter, they had been there for over a week, since the Carpathia had docked. She had been unable to find any record of Cora's parents on the survivors lists and since she hadn't had any money to pay for any other kind of accommodation so this had been their only option.

_Beside her Cora broke into a fit coughs and grabbed her coat- Cal's coat with shaking hands, whimpering when the coughs finally subsided_

"_It's okay sweetie, we'll get some food and then you can go back to sleep" not that she'd been getting much sleep between her coughing and her nightmares. The mattress they were sharing wasn't the most comfortable either._

"_Oh my God Rose!" _

_For a moment Rose was sure her heart stopped beating in her chest, she knew that voice…_

"_Rose darlin' what on earth are you doing here?" Molly Brown exclaimed as she rushed round the table towards her and wrapped her arms around her "My God child, your mother is beside herself, she thinks your dead!" _

"_Oh Molly, you can't tell her please, she can't know I'm alive, she'll make me go back to him, to that life and I can't go back to that life" she could feel herself beginning to hyperventilate _

"_Rose, sweetie calm down. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to alright? I'm just so relieved that you're okay. What about Jack? Did her survive as well?"_

_Rose ducked her head feeling the familiar onset of tears at the mention of Jack's name, Molly immediately picked up on her distress "Oh darlin' I'm so sorry, he was a good man" _

_Rose could only nodded trying desperately to choke back sobs "he was" she whispered. _

_Cora coughed again, alerting Molly to her presence "Who's this gorgeous girl" she bent down so she was eye level with her. Cora blushed, or it could've been the fever, and hid behind Rose's leg._

"_This is Cora" Rose said gently, placing her hand on Cora's head._

"_Hi Cora, I'm Molly" Cora didn't respond and Molly "She looks really ill Rose, come to think of it you don't look much better, have you had any medical treatment?" _

_Rose shook her head medical care was expensive._

"_Okay, you're coming with me"_

"_What? No, Molly I can't ask you to do that"_

"_You're not asking, I'm telling, do you have any things you need to collect?" _

_Rose shook her head _

"_Okay my cars outside, we'll go back to the apartment and I'll call a doctor to look at you two"_

_0000000_

_Rose chewed on her lip nervously as she waited for the doctor to finish checking on Cora, she had been pacing but she had quickly become dizzy and had stationed herself against the wall_

"_Rose darlin' you really don't look well, you should be in bed" _

_She shook her head "No, I need to be there for her, she's so scared and she doesn't have anyone left" Molly opened her mouth to respond but was cut off when the doctor exited the bedroom looking grim _

"_Oh God is she-_

"_She has a bad case of hypothermia, and because of her age she's at a greater risk…"_

"_Of death?" Rose let out a sob _

"_If she rests and receives proper treatment care she should be fine. Now will you let me check on you?"_

_Rose was numb as Molly led her to the room that would be hers and the Doctor checked her over "She's gonna be fine darlin'" Molly assured her as she pulled the blankets up around her and kissed her forehead._

_She waited until she was sure Molly wouldn't here her and crept out of her room and into Cora's _

_The little girl was curled up in the middle of the bed buried under a pile of several blankets sleeping soundly, she gently lowered herself on the edge of the bed and smoothed a hand over her hair, simply watching her sleep, surprised by the calm that she felt while doing so._

_000000_

_As the weeks passed Cora recovered quickly. Rose however seemed to be getting worse. She suffered from terrible nausea and became so weak that eventually she had to use a bucket by the bed to vomit in._

_For the first few weeks Molly told herself that it was the emotional stress of losing Jack and her experience on the Titanic that was causing it but as they days passed and her health deteriorated she became concerned that there was a more serious physical cause. She didn't know much about what had happened on the Titanic, only that Rose had been one of six survivors to be pulled from the water. God only knew the effects that could have had on her body._

_So she had called on the doctor again and was currently pacing the length of the sitting room _

"_Molly?" a tiny voice said from the doorway _

"_Cora, sweetheart what's the matter?" she bent down so she was at eye level with her "Is mommy dying?" Somewhere along the way she had started to refer to Rose as mommy and neither had bothered to correct her _

"_Oh sweetheart no, you're mommy is gonna be just fine, she's just feeling a little unwell, but the Doctor's going to take good care of her and make her feel all better. Why don't you make her a get well card?"_

_Cora nodded and ran out the room, just as the doctor came in "How is she?"_

"_Maybe you should have a seat Mrs Brown" _

_Oh God that can't be good "What is it?"_

"_Well it would appear, the young lady is with child"_

"_Does she know?"_

_The doctor shook his head "No, she fell asleep before I could tell her, I thought it best she hear it from you"_

_Molly nodded "Thank you doctor, I'll see you out."_

"_No need, will the father be…"_

"_The father's dead" Molly snapped irritably, who did this man think he was prying into everyone's business_

_The doctor had the decency to at least look embarrassed as he left. Leaving Molly alone to figure out how to tell Rose._

00000000

"They were born in December, the twenty- first, four weeks early. They were so tiny, so sick" she choked back the sobs threatening

"I thought I had lived through my worst nightmare that night, but that was nothing compared to watching my babies fight for survival" finally she could repress the sobs no more as she broke down.

Jack wrapped both his arms around her and began rocking her back and forth "you're so brave, so brave and so strong"

Finally the tears subsidised and she looked up at him embarrassed "Sorry" she laughed weakly brushing the tears from her cheeks "I don't know where that came from"

He smiled softly "You must've needed it, think you'll be able to sleep now?"

Rose bit her lip "would you sleep with me?" her eyes widened as she realised the implications of her words "I didn't mean like _that_, I just meant…"

Jack shushed her "I know what you meant, of course I will"

And so that night, wrapped in the safety and comfort of Jack's arm, Rose slept.

**Three updated stories in one day! Will the wonders of procrastination ever cease? Let me know what you think **

**xx**


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